--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As far as being territorial about one's…" description: "\"As far as being territorial about one's own life, that's a mistake for ANY writer. All writers everywhere, in every genre, are drawing from their life ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cef/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_activity_as-far-as-being-territorial-about-one-s_1933849.png" --- # As far as being territorial about one's own life, that's a… ![“As far as being territorial about one's own life, that's a mistake for ANY writer. All writers everywhere, in every genre, are drawing from their life and the lives of those around them for "material." Memoirs just make transparent and even amplify that activity.” quote by Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cef/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_activity_as-far-as-being-territorial-about-one-s_1933849.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cef/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_activity_as-far-as-being-territorial-about-one-s_1933849.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cef/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_activity_as-far-as-being-territorial-about-one-s_1933849.png) > “As far as being territorial about one's own life, that's a mistake for ANY writer. All writers everywhere, in every genre, are drawing from their life and the lives of those around them for "material." Memoirs just make transparent and even amplify that activity.” [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers must avoid treating personal experience as exclusive property; sharing enriches art. **In simple terms:** Sharing life fuels writing. Key Takeaway Embrace openness in storytelling. Themes creativity authorship vulnerability Mood reflective introspective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - fiction writing - memoir creation - workshop feedback - public speaking Key Concepts ownership influence collaboration Questions to Reflect On - How does sharing personal stories affect reader connection? - What boundaries should writers set? A Different Perspective Personal experience can be exploited if not handled ethically. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoir/) [Memoirs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoirs/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I grew up reading genre writers, and to the degree that Eric Ambler and Graham Greene are genre writers, I'm a genre writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/i-grew-up-reading-genre-writers-and-to-the-degree-that-eric-ambler/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [I think mystery writers and thriller writers - whatever genre you want to call it - are taking on some of the biggest, most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/i-think-mystery-writers-and-thriller-writers-whatever-genre-you-want/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [To begin impatiently is the worst mistake a writer can make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-beevor/to-begin-impatiently-is-the-worst-mistake-a-writer-can-make/) [Antony Beevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-beevor/) > [“The worst mistake a writer can make is to assume everyone has an imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-worst-mistake-a-writer-can-make-is-to-assume-everyone-has-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A lot of folks just get it in their head that, for instance, like writing memoirs is just easy. You just write down what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/a-lot-of-folks-just-get-it-in-their-head-that-for-instance-like/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [I've been approached many times to write all sorts of books about my past and my personal life. I get interest from people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vai/i-ve-been-approached-many-times-to-write-all-sorts-of-books-about-my/) [Steve Vai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vai/) > [I have some very good friends who've written memoirs, but it's not for me. It's just not a format that I'm interested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-bateman/i-have-some-very-good-friends-who-ve-written-memoirs-but-it-s-not-for/) [Justine Bateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-bateman/) > [I could never write my memoirs, just because too many people are still alive and would be hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-willis/i-could-never-write-my-memoirs-just-because-too-many-people-are-still/) [Bruce Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-willis/) > [I've always loved reading diaries and memoirs and just getting a sense of different personalities and what made them tick as individuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/i-ve-always-loved-reading-diaries-and-memoirs-and-just-getting-a/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [The most transformative experiences people have - bliss, devotion, self transcendence - are currently anchored to the worst parts of culture and to ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-most-transformative-experiences-people-have-bliss-devotion-self/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Weapons compound man's power to achieve; they amplify the capabilities of both the good man and the bad, and to exactly the same degree,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/weapons-compound-man-s-power-to-achieve-they-amplify-the-capabilities/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [Crystals are amplifying minerals. You have a crystal in a radio - it amplifies the sound waves. You have a crystal in a television…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/crystals-are-amplifying-minerals-you-have-a-crystal-in-a-radio-it/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > […he is unlike the other customers. They sense it too, and look at him with hard eyes, eyes like little metal studs pinned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-is-unlike-the-other-customers-they-sense-it-too-and-look-at-him/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Money is neither good nor bad. It simply amplifies what is in the heart of the one who controls it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-avanzini/money-is-neither-good-nor-bad-it-simply-amplifies-what-is-in-the/) John Avanzini > [Social media is not just another way to connect feminist and activist voices - it amplifies our messages as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/social-media-is-not-just-another-way-to-connect-feminist-and-activist/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) ## More by Lidia Yuknavitch > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“This man was gorgeous. I'm mentioning this because women live their lives secretly waiting for their lives to become movies. We act like men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/this-man-was-gorgeous-i-m-mentioning-this-because-women-live-their/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“We'd cry great waves of love and rage for this young woman, whose resistance made our own lives look empty as nadless ball sacks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/we-d-cry-great-waves-of-love-and-rage-for-this-young-woman-whose/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“We consumer and become exactly what we create. In all times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/we-consumer-and-become-exactly-what-we-create-in-all-times/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [The WRITER of memoir gets incoming weirdness in very odd ways. I was recently talking to a memoir writer whose work just went meteoric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/the-writer-of-memoir-gets-incoming-weirdness-in-very-odd-ways-i-was/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [I just want my stories to be mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-just-want-my-stories-to-be-mine/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“Everyone’s last wish turned out to be love: may I be consumed by the simplicity and purity of a love story, any love, base…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/everyone-s-last-wish-turned-out-to-be-love-may-i-be-consumed-by-the/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Birth is of course violent. Menstruation is violent. Trust me, if men's penises opened up once a month and shot blood, we'd be hearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/birth-is-of-course-violent-menstruation-is-violent-trust-me-if-men-s/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“Words from my whole body, my entire life, or the lives of women and girls whose stories got stuck in their throats came gushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/words-from-my-whole-body-my-entire-life-or-the-lives-of-women-and/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“We are what happens when the seemingly unthinkable celebrity rises to power. Our existence makes my eyes hurt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/we-are-what-happens-when-the-seemingly-unthinkable-celebrity-rises-to/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Worse, the bodies of women, minorities, children, disenfranchised bodies (prisoners, so-called nut cases, etc...) and their truths don't "count" as either present and important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/worse-the-bodies-of-women-minorities-children-disenfranchised-bodies/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [It may be true too that I would not have encountered the most important books and art and ideas of my life had I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/it-may-be-true-too-that-i-would-not-have-encountered-the-most/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [I might think that equality has been achieved, there is no power relation going on in terms of class, race, or gender, I might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-might-think-that-equality-has-been-achieved-there-is-no-power/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“That image of Joan of Arc burning up in a fire burned inside me like a new religion. Her face skyward. Her faith muscled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/that-image-of-joan-of-arc-burning-up-in-a-fire-burned-inside-me-like/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [This is something I know: damaged women? We don't think we deserve kindness. IN fact, when kindness happens to us, we go a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/this-is-something-i-know-damaged-women-we-don-t-think-we-deserve/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) [Explore all 111 Lidia Yuknavitch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) Gero Miesenbock > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As far as being territorial about one's own life, that's a mistake for ANY writer. 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